MIAMI: GUARDS: The regular season goal for DWYANE WADE is to just stay healthy. Even following knee surgery, he's still good enough to pile up numbers, but the minutes won't be there in the regular season . . . That's why the Heat brought in RAY ALLEN. He and Wade will share the floor at times, but Allen should primarily play off the bench. His role will be to knock down the wide-open threes Wade and LeBron James create . . . After all the big plays he made in the postseason, MARIO CHALMERS is entrenched as the starting point guard, despite being plagued by a bad hammy in the preseason . . . Super-quick NORRIS COLE looks like he'll become one of the NBA's better backup point guards . . . If he doesn't retire, the absurdly brittle MIKE MILLER will see limited regular-season minutes . . . TERREL HARRIS will likely make the team because he's willing to play defense. FORWARDS: While another title is their No. 1 priority, LeBRON JAMES has shown no need to rest during the regular season. He'll play full-time minutes and be in the thick of the MVP race . . . CHRIS BOSH remains integral to the offense with his ability to pull opposing bigs away from the basket. His stats don't reflect his actual value . . . SHANE BATTIER will continue to be a defensive specialist whose offensive role is limited to shooting open threes . . . UDONIS HASLEM is another guy who will get held back in the regular season. He should lead their low-post rotation . . . RASHARD LEWIS' knee problems have robbed him of athleticism . . . But Lewis should beat out fellow shooter JAMES JONES for a rotation spot . . . JARVIS VARNADO is a shot-blocking force with little to no offensive game. CENTERS: JOEL ANTHONY will continue to tag-team with Haslem in the middle. Anthony is an absolute negative on the offensive end, but he brings more size and shot-blocking than Haslem . . . DEXTER PITTMAN will be battling for a roster spot. Sexy Dexy has shown no signs of being an NBA-caliber player so far in his career . . . MICKELL GLADNESS is a better alternative than Pittman on both ends of the floor.

BROOKLYN: GUARDS: DERON WILLIAMS is healthy and got a much-improved supporting cast to work with. He could re-enter the NBA's best point guard discussion . . . JOE JOHNSON won't have the ballin his hands as much as he used to in Atlanta. It might give him a chance to concentrate on regaining his stroke as one of the NBA's best shooters . . . MARSHON BROOKS will look to settle in as a high-scoring sixth man. He'll be trade bait for most of the season . . . After a disastrous year in Chicago, C.J. WATSON will be asked to spell Williams for a few minutes a night . . . KEITH BOGANS is still kicking around as a second unit glue guy . . . TYSHAWN TAYLOR is an at-times out-of-control combo guard, but the rookie could threaten Watson's role at some point. FORWARDS: KRIS HUMPHRIES' contract was structured to make him easier to trade. He'll rebound and get his put-backs, and the Nets will likely showcase him a bit . . . GERALD WALLACE is slowing down, and now that he's signed his last big NBA contract he might not have much incentive to live up to his 'Crash' nickname. Brooklyn has no choice but to give him heavy minutes considering their investment . . . MIRZA TELETOVIC is a veteran stretch four. Consider him a penniless man's Channing Frye . . . TORNIKE SHENGELIA played himself into a roster spot this summer. He's a mediocre athlete, but a cagey scorer with a high basketball IQ . . . JOSH CHILDRESS and JERRY STACKHOUSE were added in September for depth . . . REGGIE EVANS will flop unconvincingly, punch opponents in the jewels and bring other 'tough guy' intangibles. CENTERS: BROOK LOPEZ had been remarkably durable before last year's foot injury, and he should be fully healed by the start of training camp. He's gifted offensively, but will continue to grab relatively few rebounds and generally get fried defensively. He's also a candidate to be traded midseason if another franchise can stomach his max contract . . . As insurance, former Wizards big man ANDRAY BLATCHE was brought in. He could be the team's best interior defender, able to play either the four or five spot.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - P.J. Carlesimo is convinced after a month on the job: The Brooklyn Nets are a winning team.

He still needs to see, even after one of the best months in franchise history, if they can consistently be one against the teams already at that level.

Well, here comes their chance.

The Nets begin a tough three-game stretch Wednesday night against LeBron James and the NBA champion Miami Heat, who have won the last 12 meetings and remain the league's standard in Carlesimo's eyes.

"They're the best team in the league until somebody beats them," Carlesimo said Tuesday after practice. "Maybe when the year's out and we've played 82 games, somebody will have a better record than them. But they're still the champions and they're still going to the finals on a pretty regular basis, so until somebody knocks them off, this to me is the barometer you measure against and we haven't shown yet that we can beat these guys. So that's a huge challenge for us."

So are the Chicago Bulls at home Friday, and the Los Angeles Lakers next Tuesday. Starting Wednesday on ESPN, it's the kind of high-profile stretch that can earn the Nets, who may be a little overlooked despite a 27-18 record, some added respect within the league.

"It's a nice stretch for us," guard Joe Johnson said. "I wouldn't say a tough one, but it's a nice one and we should be ready and prepared for this challenge. But we're going to start first with Miami and try to get over that hump."

The Heat (28-13) already beat the Nets twice this season - "smacked," says Carlesimo, who described another Nets defeat as "annihilated," apparently believing that when the Nets fall, "losing" isn't enough of a description.

Fortunately for them, it hasn't happened often since Carlesimo was promoted to interim coach when Avery Johnson was fired Dec. 27.

They have since gone 13-4, winning eight straight at home and pulling within 1 1/2 games of the neighboring Knicks for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Nets have tied a franchise record for the most wins in January (11) and can equal their best total in any month with a victory Wednesday.

Along the way, they won at Oklahoma City and New York, the kind of performances that give the Nets reason for confidence going into this stretch.

"When we play the way we're capable of playing ... we've beaten a couple of the better teams in the league, even on the road, so we just got to play," Carlesimo said. "We're playing in our place, which is a huge plus for us."

The Nets rebounded from their first two-game losing streak under Carlesimo with a 97-77 victory over Orlando on Monday. Yet Carlesimo was still dwelling Tuesday on the losses last week at Memphis and Houston that saddled them with a 2-2 mark on a road trip which began with an impressive victory over the Knicks.

"After the steps we took back last week, we have to show that we can be - not that we can be good, we've established that - but that we can be good consistently and that we can be good against the better teams," Carlesimo said.

In case anyone needed a reminder of the Heat's status, they got it Monday when the team visited the White House to be honored by President Obama for their 2012 NBA title. James said the experience was like, "Mama, I made it."

The reigning league MVP has been efficient against the Nets this season, averaging 20.5 points on 55.6 percent shooting along with 10.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists.

Dwyane Wade, though, has been the offensive star in the season series, averaging 28.0 points and shooting 70.6 percent from the floor in the two victories, both in Miami.

The Heat had their four-game winning streak snapped Sunday with a 100-98 double-overtime loss at Boston. James had 34 points, a season-high 16 rebounds, seven assists and three steals as Miami shot just 40.6 percent - its third-worst mark of the season.

Brooklyn has held opponents to 42.4 percent shooting during its eight-game run at home.